Ukraine urgently needs reform in mobilization and military training system - Ukrainian officer

He shared his opinions with Espreso TV.

"An additional 160,000 personnel would require a substantial financial commitment. I wouldn’t discuss such figures publicly—it will be challenging to recruit individuals who lack adequate equipment," Ryzhenko stated. "However, it’s clear to everyone that the Ukrainian Defense Forces need reinforcements. In my view, we urgently need to reform the mobilization system, especially the operations of the Territorial Centers for Recruitment and Social Support and the Military medical commission. We should consider adopting a mobilization model similar to those in Scandinavian countries or Israel, where the approach is rooted in a dialogue between the state and its citizens. In wartime, now is the moment for this change," he explained.

According to the expert, compulsory mobilization measures are ineffective.

"At the beginning of the war, all our citizens were ready to take up arms and go to defend the country from aggression. We have a great experience. In particular, on February 23, 2024, we had an operational reserve that was deployed to repel aggression. More than 200,000 reservists immediately arrived at their military units. This saved the situation then. Now the mobilization system urgently needs to be changed. In order to take concrete steps, we need to carefully study the situation. We need to prepare operational reserves. In Finland, with a population of 5 million, the operational reserve is 1.2 million citizens. The Finnish Armed Forces have 33,000 personnel, and in the event of a war, they can activate their reserves. The entire operational reserve there is trained. Every citizen has a military unit, uniform, etc. In our country, we just made a record. I think that doing the registration and closing the borders is a bit wrong, these steps do not give the results that are expected. These are coercive steps that are reminiscent of the Soviet Union. If a citizen is truly patriotic and is abroad, he or she will return if necessary. And there were many such people. And to have tactics without a strategy is to fuss before you are destroyed," he added.

• On October 29, it became known that NSDC Secretary Oleksandr Lytvynenko announced the need to draft another 160,000 people in Ukraine to staff up to 85% of military units.